Football World Cup 2018: Thierry Henry: The Familiar Enemy – 2018 Football World Cup

Frenchman Thierry Henry advises the Belgian national team. Now he meets his homeland. He is considered critically after a scandal.

By
Frank Hellmann

Anyone who thinks of St. Petersburg immediately badociates the city with water, immensity and its world cultural heritage. Golden domes and magnificent buildings. Who remembers Thierry Henry, who connects the player with speed, finesse and goals. Fabulous lightness and high speed. What represents the tsar's city for Russia is this striker for France: a leading figure admired around the world. Henry is leading with his 51 goals in 123 internationals for the Tricolore Team as top scorer. In front of the house Arsenal – for the Gunners he scored 226 goals – it's a life-size bronze statue

Thierry Henry won the World Cup and the Champions League

And yet this Frenchman, who has almost hair on his skull, but wearing a thick beard, meanwhile on the other side, when the semi-finals of the World Cup between France and Belgium (Tuesday, 20 hours / ARD, Sky) gets up. The 40-year-old has the most savory personality of the Nachbarschaftsduell, he serves as an badistant to the Belgian national coach Roberto Martinez. "It is very important to me, I appreciate every day that I can work with him," recently announced the Spanish. "He won the 1998 World Cup and the Champions League in 2009. He knows what players feel, he knows the pressure."

For Martinez, these qualities are basic. The experience of special tournaments in the last phase of the World Cup is a crucial element: talent does not help if the mindset is bad. His thesis is confirmed to the extent that the same Belgian players at the 2014 World Cup and EM 2016 for their talent to retire too early. Henry helps overcome the obstacle. What the 40-year-old is actually recommending for the World Cup semi-final, however, remains in the shadows. He claims to ban him from a contract with the public statements of English television. In one of his rare interviews, Henry said that he was only "T3", the third coach. "What will I be later? I do not think about it at the moment."

Perhaps every word would be too much for the French in particular. "It's weird to see it from the other side," recognizes national forward Olivier Giroud. Henry suffered after beating the ticket to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup with an unjust handball match against Ireland, where a nadir hit Knysna's shame – an absurd striker in the same headquarters. So much porcelain has broken down that the blues are not yet good enough to serve identity. Henry – who soon ended his career in the national team – would not have swept the shrapnel.

Although born in Ulis in the Paris region, but living in London, he was rather rare in his native country. Thrown around the world, taking care of the family. Two years ago, he accepted the offer to change coach badistant national coach Martinez, who was greeted with some skepticism by the Flemish and Walonen. "I am honored to become an badistant coach," tweeted Henry at the time. France had never offered him such a thing, he should have complained later. From cosmopolitan Martinez, who speaks excellent English to be married to a Scottish girl, Henry's enthronement was an intelligent maneuver.

"Thierry likes to talk about his experiences"

Whenever questions come to him in French, the 44-year-old uses the translation tool. His co-trainer, however, can speak directly to the non-negligible frankofone faction of the Red Devils team. "Thierry likes to talk about his experiences.He is a football lover, he likes to talk about what he did, his first World Cup.He gave me a lot of advice", said Michy Batshuayi, ready for the second round of Borussia Dortmund.

Officially, Henry, who volunteered to offer his salary of 8,000 euros for charitable purposes, is responsible for training the attackers. The influence is likely to be greater than that of Miroslav Klose in the German team. At least, the gestures of jubilation last Friday in the Kazan arena are: Henry not only clutched his fist, but he was so close to his boss Martinez that it spontaneously aroused him in the air. Perhaps a symbolic image: if the Belgians really get the Gold Cup, then on the sideline, a Spaniard and a Frenchman helped them to climb all the way.

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